6. MJ”s BeltGift from a long lost sister-kin;Woven with chaos magic in.An Owl for my mother’s sister;I really do still miss her.A wolf for my spirit guide;Keeping my path clarified.An hourglass for sister Time;I gave her back her voice in rhyme.A crystal castle for walls well made;Helped with the charms that will not fade.Then the leaf is left for me;It is who I am and what I’ll be.

Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing, ring-ting tingle-ing, tooCome on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with youOutside the snow is falling and friends are calling "yoo hoo"

8. Art of the Week: Disappointing LootI have crossed the barren dessert, and almost died of thirst.I have wandered far in danger and I did not know the way.I spoke my words in foreign lands no one understands.I have seen the face of a god and lived.

And all I gotWas this lousy minstrel tonic,A one ruined ring,And a potion of heal light wounds.

I passed through raging waters in the sea and almost drownedI walked amid the burning flames, and I was almost harmed.I stood before the pow’r of hell and death was at my sideAnd all I got was a token of surprise.

And all I got wasOne shoe that needs a pair.and all I got was,a comb for may hair.

Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs.Blessed are you that weep and mourn for one day you shall laugh.Yet wicked men insult and hate me, all because of youAnd all I get is a lousy shirt that’s blue.

//apologies to John Michael Talbot/ Be not afraid

Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing, ring-ting tingle-ing, tooCome on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with youOutside the snow is falling and friends are calling "yoo hoo"

I tried to squeeze this in before kat posted the new prompt, but looks like I was just a bit too late! I wanted to try my hand at some micro fiction. This originally was going to be a single paragraph or two, but it expanded a little since I wanted to tell a little bit of this story.

Letting go

Tamia sighed dramatically. She knew Isaac made his decision a long time ago and there was nothing she could do to change that, the best thing she could do was send him into the world prepared. She opened the rich mahogany box and ran her finger over the inscription engraved on the bracer within. Trite and unnecessary and likely confusing, she hoped he would understand some day, or even better, never have to. She carefully removed it and turned to face her son. He waited patiently with a sad regretful look. “Thank you for at least pretending to be sad to leave.” Tamia said dryly. Sometimes it was scary how easily he became what people wanted from him. Sure enough, the regretful son act dropped after being called out and he wore a wide grin from ear to ear. He was excited to go out on his adventure with no clue of what would await him.

It reminded Tamia of herself, and now she had a brand new appreciation for what her father went through when she brashly stormed off to Fort Karr for the first time. It would ultimately be good for Isaac- he could finally come into his own and discover for himself what he had been called to do. She grimaced and handed him the antique bracer.

“This was a gift to me from Ayren Milen when I first started out. It has a pretty good track record of keeping foolish young adventurers who get in over their heads safe.” She moved to help fasten the bracers to his arm despite his squirming at her mothering. He was just going to have to put with it for now, and she continued talking before he could protest.

“You can activate the magic of them by touching the runes on the side here. It should form an invisible barrier of force around you and absorb impacts much like a second suit of armor.” He nodded and smiled warmly.

“Safe? You’re the son of William and Tamia Dane, you’re going to be in danger and do something reckless within five minutes of landing in Mikona. I’ll settle for alive and not in great pain or in prison.” She sighed again, softly this time. “You have my list of names of people to turn to if you need help, I’ll send letters to a few of them as well. Only go to the bottom ones if you’re in truly dire straits. You don’t want to owe Evershield a favor.” He nodded. “Now- finish making your preparations while I make you dinner. You better enjoy it, you’re going to have to get used to common Mikona fare soon.” Isaac groaned as his mother left.

I've dabbled in sprite making here and there over the years, and while I won't claim to be any good at it all, I find it a fascinating medium, and I love being able to get nearly instant visual feedback if a change is for the better or not.

With that said, I tried my hand at this week's prompt by trying to imitate the Final Fantasy I sprites with Vincent. I ended up sort of blending between the red mage and the fighter sprite, and while the result isn't amazing or groundbreaking, I'm pretty pleased with how the experiment worked out.

Zonr_0 wrote:I've dabbled in sprite making here and there over the years, and while I won't claim to be any good at it all, I find it a fascinating medium, and I love being able to get nearly instant visual feedback if a change is for the better or not.

With that said, I tried my hand at this week's prompt by trying to imitate the Final Fantasy I sprites with Vincent. I ended up sort of blending between the red mage and the fighter sprite, and while the result isn't amazing or groundbreaking, I'm pretty pleased with how the experiment worked out.